- Welcome to the Architecture for Health Friday lecture series.

It's great to have you with us.

Those of you here in the studio and those of you joining us online, it's great to have you.

Today is a special treat for me.

It's always fun to introduce our guests.

It's extra special for me when I get to introduce two longtime friends about whom I know a few things and with whom I've had some wonderful experiences.

I'll start with Charles Griffin.

Charles is, and Tushar are, both are now with Page EYP, am I getting that in the right order?

That's a recent development, but we're excited for their future together.

Charles is experienced to say the least.

Charles's career spans over, pay attention, this is a B, not the M, over $5 billion of construction in healthcare.

That's a lot of work.

You can do the math and slice it up any way you want, and that's a lot of projects.

And Charles has been recognized by the industry for that skill and that experience.

He's a fellow in the American Institute of Architects and a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Architects, both important milestones in anyone's career.

He's also been active with the Academy of Architecture for Health and the Academy of Architecture for Health Foundation, actually as president of both of those.

And I've known Charles for many, many years and it's wonderful, old friend, to have you here today.

Tushar joins us, and Tushar, former Ag in architecture.

Can you say it?

(audience whooping) There it is right there.

The whoops come.

And there's a paragraph in Tushar's bio that I want to share with you, and I don't want to mess it up, so I'm gonna look and be sure I don't miss something.

Tushar was raised in a family with two parents.

One was a university professor and one was an engineer.

And Tushar frames that childhood, that family, as bringing to him lessons learned in critical thinking, the value of sharing ideas, and social responsibility.

Now think about that for just a moment.

In your career as a design professional, critical thinking, sharing ideas, with an air toward social responsibility.

What a remarkable combination.

I love that.

Tushar is currently managing the Houston office for Page EYP, and I have to tell you, it is with a great deal of pleasure that I bring to you today Charles and Tushar, would you help me welcome them?

(Ray and audience clapping) - Well, we're very excited to be here.

It's great to be back at my alma mater.

Thank you for that warm welcome, and we're very excited to continue the dialogue that you have been having in this seminar for the last couple of weeks.

When we got this invitation from Ray, we're very excited because I think the conversation, we're citizens of the world today, so when he asked about putting the perspective on bringing that global perspective and talking about that, we thought that it would be wonderful what we could share.

There's a lot to share.

We have had a few experiences and today we're excited to walk you through that.

The way we've organized our conversation today is we'll do a little bit of introduction.

As Ray just mentioned, our firm has recently combined with Page and we're an incredible new organization, so I'd like to share a little bit about that with you.

Talk about the firm's impact, from what that has meant from a global perspective, bringing back homeward about the same conversation.

But then we want to take a quick dive into talking to you a little bit about sharing again our experiences of what does that mean when you're working around the world, what are some of the wonderful opportunities that come with it?

What are some of the challenges that come as you go work abroad?

But then also what really makes, what is the recipe for being successful as you're going, working around the world.

But then it would be a miss on our part to not be thinking about where we are today.

And as we sort of think about the world, there are still parts of the world where the challenges are very different from what we face today sitting in a first world situation.

And we thought that we admire a practice of this organization and what they have done.

It's not our firm, but we thought that it was very thought provoking to take and understand the tact they have taken in making an impact.

So we'll talk a little bit and share, hopefully, maybe engage and get you to sort of engage in some discourse around that.

And then finally, we want to end on thinking about where does the future want to take us and what does that mean for all of us?

Just in an open way to go through a discussion.

Now, I will say, and I would encourage you to stop it at any point, we want this to be more done in an informal way.

We could have this more as a dialogue.

So please do not hesitate to interrupt at any moment and ask us a question that comes to mind.

We had put a couple of learning objectives.

I have outlined those, what we talked about in my introductions.

So why don't we just go ahead and jump in into our part of our conversation where Charles, would you like to maybe begin with our introduction?

- Sure, go ahead, sure.

So Ray was gracious enough to mention our merger with Page that occurred on June the 30th.

We're super excited about this.

This takes both our organizations to a different level and we're gonna give you a little scale and perspective about that.

We now have 1300 folks in our firm.

We have 16 offices across the world.

We have a number of different sectors beyond healthcare, and higher ed, and S and T that you can see listed there.

So we have a broader practice with more knowledge to learn and share with our clients in the world.

So this is a snapshot from the building design and construction outlook on firms from 2020.

If you combine our two firms, which we've done here, we move from the low teens into the top six.

Just from that measurement.

So we're excited about that.

Both firms are just pumped about the joining that we have.

- So in thinking about the international reach, while we are, majority of our offices are on the state side, we do have a few international offices.

We have been able to touch 50 countries, and been able to do a lot of work.

Some of that has been in the realm of healthcare, but we have a very robust government sector that actually works for the state department amongst others and has been very fortunate to go around the world following their mission of the State Department and doing various kinds of projects, including several embassies.

Now when we do that kind work, there is again, as we said, there is a responsibility that comes with it.

Yes, we are taking our country's mission of democracy and the values that we believe in, but also about recognizing the cultural nuances of the place, the region.

So as we think about the built environment and the buildings that we build there, it's really important that we recognize and celebrate that.

That's why no one embassy looks alike, which is a good thing, and I think we try to bring that, but I think along with that is an environmental responsibility.

So there's a social responsibility, there's an environmental responsibility and our firm, I'm really proud, has taken that very seriously and has made an impact towards that as we continue to work abroad.

I show you one example here of an embassy.

But there are several things noted here about the sustainable attributes of that, but the one that I really want to appoint or bring your attention to is what highlighted in red.

Every time you go work abroad, there is an opportunity to make a difference on a local level.

In this case, 1200 local craftsmen and workers got an opportunity work on it.

Through this project, we were able to raise a level of skill set and afford people employment, another thing, this is really great, I think it goes back to the social impact, the economic impact you can make in a place where you go.

And I think to me that is a huge takeaway when we go and we have these opportunities to work around the globe.

So talking about working globally, let's talk about what are the fun things that happen as you go to those kinds of things?

First of all, I think as I said a moment ago, making a difference.

Every project, whether it's stateside, it's abroad, wherever it is.

I think, I feel like as architects we always would like to move the practice forward, help our clients understand what they're looking for, and what can we do to continue to have an impact I think is a really important aspect.

The fun things about working around the world is you get to travel, you get to experience cultures, you get to immerse yourself in places you have not been, enjoy foods, and it's just something that I know that Charles, you and I have enjoyed and something, we're both foodies.

We work hard but we play hard.

And I think that's the fun when you get to travel with your coworkers, with your friends, it's just exciting.

And I'll tell you, not just about going abroad, but I think even working stateside.

One of the most memorable relationships that I have been able to form in my career have been with people that I've traveled with because I've actually got to spend time, Charles is a very dear friend and a mentor of mine because we have worked on many of those projects in my journey at the firm together and I think that's been very exciting.

Building relationships is another really great thing that happens, and I think as we were getting ready for the talk, Ray, you had mentioned about, how do you get out there, how do you get to work abroad?

And I think sometimes you have opportunities to build.

I'll tell you a story.

When I was a student here, the legend, Professor George Mann, would often have guests from all over the world, and he had a professor visit us from Japan.

And we sort of got to know him.

And long story short, I think that provided opportunities for us to go see places, do things.

I think similarly, I think every time you have those kinds of interactions, I think it opens some doors.

Charles is later going to share a story about a project we're working on currently in Denmark where it's about, you gotta be at the right place at the right time.

And one of our very dear principals, also an Ag, and I think he spoke here, Anthony Haas, was sitting at the right place at the right time with the person from Denmark and struck a conversation.

And that relationship led to something that we'll talk a little bit more about.

But then there is immense opportunity for design, and I think design in a very holistic way.

It's not just about the big D, the conceptual, but really about thinking about design in a much more holistic way.

And how can you do that from just, maybe even small gestures of detail or to very large, kind of a big move.

There is just, I think opportunities are immense.

And they differ as you go from around the world and you interact with different clients.

And I think that's really wonderful.

And then lastly, I would say the rewards and recognitions that come with that.

Rewards are immense.

All the way from being financially successful and be able to benefit from that, but also getting a worldwide notoriety of the work that you bring from maybe here or wherever to another place in the world.

So I think those are really exciting things.

- So the flip side of the coin are the challenges that one faces when you venture overseas.

Tushar mentioned timing.

It's everything in how you go about works.

There's challenges with commitment of staff and resources going forward.

If you've got a team working overseas, you don't have those same resources back at stateside working on projects, so how do you balance that?

There's fees and payments, the things, it's the lifeblood, the basics of business of what we do.

You have to be very wary and cautious about this.

You're working overseas.

Language can certainly be a barrier.

You want to have someone that's on your team that speaks the local language as you work with other organizations so you can pick up on the nuances and what's being said on one side or the other.

The cultures are very different, but that's part of the fun part, but can also be a challenge.

So you have to be aware of that.

And then building trust.

Trust is the life bone of building relationships as Tushar mentioned and doing that overseas is a challenge.

You have to just be very wary, worldly, and respectful of people and their thoughts.

Then regional and climate considerations are always there, really take you partly around the world with different climates where we design, they're very different in each location.

That's a challenge.

It's also an opportunity.

So attributes for business success.

Choosing industry partners wisely.

In almost every project we pursued, we had a local partner or an avenue, a relationship with a consultant we worked with that we trusted.

Without that I don't think we would've moved forward with the exception of our government work.

But typically those are teamed with contractors to build those large overseas embassies.

Having dedicated staff that start to understand the nuances of working overseas, working in the metric system all the time.

Understanding different materials and how things work, what the labor market is like over there, balancing the value that we provide with the fee we provide.

Knowing when to say no to a client, I'll bring that up in a second.

Then maintaining your brand promise, staying true to our integrity of what we bring, what we believe in as healthcare architects, and the best practice that we bring forward.

But refining that to fit a client's needs and desires.

And then lastly, knowing when to say no.

Sometimes you say, okay, we've done enough of that, we're gonna be moving on.

- So that sort of sets the framework of some of the things that you may want to think about as you sort of embark on this journey of working abroad.

As we were trying to decide what projects to pick, we very intentionally picked four projects, and we picked a project that we are working currently in Africa.

We picked a project that we had an opportunity to compete for in the Middle East.

We picked a project that we also proposed in India, and finally we bring it home on a project that we are working currently in Denmark.

And they each have, each has its own story.

So why don't we begin with the project that we are working in Lagos, Nigeria.

- So this is a project in Lagos.

It's a pro bono project that our firm took on to help a dire need in Africa.

There's just a dearth of basic evidence based design, healthcare basic fundamentals there that where there's not enough, as Ray mentioned earlier, there's not the right kind of water to drink, there's not enough food.

Nutrition is a real issue there.

And so this project is hoping to make a difference.

Sort of one project a time as a prototype model to put in place that Tushar is gonna share a little bit more about.

- Thank you Charles.

And before I show you an image of that, it's pretty striking.

The client really had an aspiration.

This was not something that we developed.

As we engage on every project, we very much are trying to make sure that we're trying to capture our client's agenda.

They wanted something, they said, we deserve the best.

We want a building that is really sort of speaking about state of the art.

When people think, and they have, they imagine what it would be based on a place, bring us something that represents the state of the art.

And so through the design process, I think as Charles said, this is a very modest facility, but their sort of idea is to maybe be able to sort of create a few of these around their country.

So it's a smaller facility, about 20 beds, two ORs, an emergency department, et cetera.

So it's a fairly modest building.

But again, the sort of striking imagery and the aesthetic was really developed from some of the local weaving patterns and things that sort of inspired the design team that worked on it, but also in bringing in some of the local colors and textures and tapestries into the graphics, into the sort of, created kind of the interior architecture and the life of this, which was, the culture is so vibrant and I think the team wanted to capture that.

So that was just a very different way to approach it.

They are currently in fundraising.

So this is, that they have a foundation which is using some of the materials that we have produced for them and they are in the process of raising funds for that project.

Moving from there, let's go to UAE.

- So the Middle East has transformed itself in the last 30 to 40 years.

It's just a remarkable, from a small oil rich area with sleepy little fishing villages into a mecca for architecture.

In your career you must go over to the Middle East and just see the architecture, it's absolutely phenomenal.

They have a lot of resources, they're doing this very purposefully.

So we had a path into the Middle East through a consulting firm that we had who was doing a very large project there.

So we got introduced, and I've mentioned timing earlier, our timing was off by about two years, just so you understand that.

But we made an impression on folks and we got invited to compete for a rehabilitation facility in behavioral health, this was in 2010.

It was ahead of the curve of where our country is right now.

So we competed for this.

And Tushar is gonna share a little bit about that journey.

- So I think when we got there, one of the things we realized is as we talked and engaged with this client about how do you go about designing a rehab facility, there is a lot of taboo about that.

It's very sort of behind this curtain.

But at the same time, there's always like, what do you look for to help a person that has to go through that?

And in speaking with them, one of the things that we learned was that there was a lot of considerations about the notion of looking at your commitment to your religious beliefs was very important to help center and get your thoughts back and help you through that journey.

And so we took that to heart, learned a lot about Islam, and how that spiritual journey could really take a person through their rehab journey as they came into the facility.

One of the things that, when we talked about this to our client was that when somebody is in that dark space of their personal health, they need that oasis, they need that light, they need that something that will help them to go beyond.

So this idea of creating this place that was, again, nature is the greatest healer and that's universal, doesn't matter where you are.

And I think that sort of, thinking about this idea of creating this building which was sort of centered around this oasis or this green space with a very strong commitment to those religious beliefs was kind of what became the foundation of that.

And I think that the work that we did and the time that we invested in sort of learning about those cultural attributes really was I think a key to our success.

Charles will talk about how this ended.

But at least the journey as a designer for me personally was extremely rewarding because I learned so much.

I think the first significant percentage of our time was not doing any design work, was just researching, talking, learning, and I think that's how it was.

I'm not gonna spend too much time in sort of going through the design parti or this, but I think the big idea was again, kind creating that becomes a unifying element of the crescent, the garden kind became something that became a very defining moment for how the buildings or the campus was going to be organized.

Another important thing that we needed to respect culturally was gender separation was very important.

And how do you program, so we went through a whole programming exercise about, how can we respect that while talking about operational efficiencies and things that we talk about in healthcare facilities for staff, for folks that had to go but at the same time have areas that respected those things.

So there were two very distinct zones that were created on the particular campus.

The other thing that was really important that we were made aware of is that there was a very distinct need for a private area for what they categorize as their VIP guests.

So there was a very distinct need for that.

And so in terms of, as a design, it was access.

And it had to be very discreet because again, there was some really special considerations.

So as we were thinking about design for this, there was almost like two faces to this campus.

One that was, I guess more for the public and then the other was a very discreet entrance and departure for their special guests that they would host in this facility.

This is sort of an aerial view of where that took shape.

Again, a lot of the motif of the architecture was responding to the climate, to the place.

So it was very much driven from that notion.

Here is a, the previous rendering was of that main arrival at the campus and then this is the discreet VIP entry, which was one level below grade, but yet we were able to bring light down into it.

And again, this was that central oasis where the mosque was in the middle surrounded by the really beautiful armature of trees there.

So Charles, how did this story end?

- As Tushar mentioned, this was a competition.

We had a full team that was over there for like a week and a half, and so imagine just the expense associated with that one venture.

We produced all this product and we had a knock it outta the park interview.

We had this client and they told us, okay, we want you guys.

We walked away just floating.

But there's local politics.

And it took over and unfortunately we didn't actually win the project, so you gotta be prepared.

- But that's sort of, but I think it still enriched us.

Yes, we invested a lot.

And I think going back to Charles's comment of timing is important.

Unfortunately we were in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi or Dubai at the wrong time.

The wave of the big work had already passed.

We were at the tail end of that.

So while we did some great work, we developed some really good relationships.

Unfortunately that did not pan out for us in this in any kind of- - This is also the time when the recession hit 2009 and 10, which impacted the globe.

It was just timing.

- Our third project is in Mumbai, India.

- So this is a really cool project I think you're gonna enjoy.

We were approached by the Hinduja group, which is a very large industrial company in not just India but around the world.

And they wanted to develop a unique, one of a kind academic medical center that brought the best of eastern medicine and western medicine together in a teaching environment, in world class facilities, in conference and hotel facilities to really make this a destination for medical tourism.

So they had grand aspirations and this is the result of our interpretation of what they asked for.

- And just to add a little bit more color before I go to the actual color images.

This was how we were pursuing it.

We got the lead on this project, we were invited.

We actually were so fortunate to get an audience with the chairman of the Hinduja group, the guy at the very top of the pyramid.

They are headquartered in London.

And we were going to have, I don't know, 15, 20 minutes audience with him.

So we really need to, that was our moment to make the pitch and be able to impress him on what we could do for him.

And it started with first the research we did, we actually found the site, they gave us very abstract drawings.

And this is not even today, this is also I think in the 2009, 10.

But the first reaction when he saw that.

How did he get where our site is?

Today's the world of the internet, you can find anything on Google.

The interesting thing about this was again, about this notional aspect.

What Charles said, this was a place they wanted to create where they brought Eastern and Western medicine.

That was a unique piece of the design brief that they wanted to bring that together.

And I think we wanted to make sure that, again, as we thought about the project, we were very much kind of creating a sense of place that belonged.

And for us that inspiration came from the lotus, which is sort of, in Hindu mythology there's a lot of relationship to creation of life and health.

So it was like a perfect metaphor that became an inspiration.

Now think about it.

We had less than a week to prepare for this, but yet we were wanting something that was grounded, that was something that would speak to the heart.

So that really became an inspiration for that.

As we sort of think about, thought about the parti, as Charles said, there was, they were trying to create not just an academic teaching institution, they also were thinking that this would be a destination for people from around the world to come there for their healthcare needs.

And so there was a big hotel and a convention center that was associated with this project.

So it was literally, there was a street on one side was going to be the hospital, the academic teaching facility and on the other side was going to be a hotel.

And what you see here in this site pen is that, so on the right side, each of those petals are each of those bed wings.

The D and T sort of in the middle, And the shorter wing on the right of that diagram is their R&D or research wing.

And then across the street was going to be a five star or whatever hotel with a very large convention center, which would aid for people to be able to live there.

But one of the things that we talked about with them was to design the hotel such that it could actually be turned into a future expansion because they had no site around it.

And that really got the chairman's attention, like, oh, that could be a novel idea.

You know how that might work?

But at least it was just sort of thinking about that and I'm just gonna take you through a gallery of images, not gonna speak too much for it, but here is just a view of that drop, but other thing that was very important that we learned was that the chairman was very much a proponent of sustainability and was very interested in that.

So we did a lot of research around what could we do in terms of alternative energy, windmills.

This is on Mumbai, it's right at the Gulf Coast there on the, actually on the Arabian sea.

So we did a little bit of research and sort of evaluation in terms of taking, could there be built in PV into the curtain wall again, this was sort of a what if idea and we were trying to capture his imagination.

And so as you go, you have a very few opportunities to make an impression.

You are in front of somebody, you have 15 minutes, you have to make a pitch and you really have to know, what are their hot buttons, what are the splinters that this person has that you can appeal to?

And so the moment we first caught his imagination by the whole idea of the lotus, then we talked about, kind of these ideas of how do you build in a pragmatic building which has a story and a purpose, but furthermore you layer it by saying this is gonna be something that'll be able to sustain itself, it's gonna be good for the place, et cetera.

I think all of those things were things that he was interested in.

So that really was a great, got us to the next step.

We were so fortunate that he sent his daughter to the US to meet us.

She was running their hospital in Mumbai.

She came to the US.

Wanted to interview us on Father's Day in New York City.

For some reason we were not able to go so she actually flew to Houston, Texas, and spent that entire weekend.

So all of us dads and few moms were in the office that day and basically spent that entire day with them.

But this story sort of ends in a different way.

So in the previous one that Charles shared where there were some political issues, in this case, regulatory issues became a challenge for us.

We there, as you can see, wanted to create, there's a high rise building.

And the codes had a limitation on how high you could go and they were working towards that.

Eventually they were not able to overcome that and as a result of that, the FAR or floor area ratio to make it viable as a financial investment didn't pan out.

So, great work.

It's like when the client came to our house, we thought we won it.

How better can it be?

Then the client actually says, I want to come to your house.

I wanna visit you.

And it was just, it was heartbreaking, But again, one of those journeys of going in there.

I think this was the shot that he really fell in love with and I think that big using that bridge as describing, they called it the World Knowledge Center.

Because they wanted to teach people not just about health, but wellbeing.

And a part of the Eastern medicine is a lot focused as you know on that.

And that was big part of their message in their story.

- So our last study is for a hospital we called Bispebjerg in Copenhagen, Denmark.

We competed for two different projects.

One we teamed with Big, and pursued, and came in a close second.

Then there was another project that came up and we teamed with KHR and Arab, and we won this project.

So this one is a success story, and it's currently under construction.

And we're involved in quality control and being sure that the western planning that we develop in there stays in the project.

So it's very exciting.

So Tushar is gonna share some of the uniqueness about building in northern climates like this where there's not a lot of sunshine.

- Yeah, and I know that Anthony was here and you may have seen this project before, but again we thought it was really something that I really admire.

It's like sometimes challenges present opportunities, the challenge in working in this kind of a Nordic kind of climate or environment is light.

It's a very precious thing.

And I think they have really taken it to heart, and the entire codes are written to maximize that.

I think one of the things we very quickly learned as we were doing the design competition, both the first and the second, was this idea of that any room in the building, it's not just your patient rooms.

Even a support room has to have a window.

And the other thing that when we first saw, a lot of diagrams, because one of the first things we did when we were working on the competition was to start to look at all the different precedents of work that was being done in that.

And we found these inordinately long buildings that would spread.

In our sort of practice, there's a discussion in the States that there's a lot of focus of efficiency, walking distances.

Nurses are aging, how can you help them reduce their walking?

And we were seeing the European model going, my god, that's like double, triple of that.

How is that?

And one of the things I remember very vividly, a delegation was in our office and I asked the question, how do you overcome that?

They said, we love to bike and walk all the time.

It's part of our DNA.

It was just so interesting just sort of, suddenly like it was like, wow, yeah.

I guess it's part of your cultural.

So again, going back to that for them, that is not, being able to walk a little bit extra to get to something is not that big a deal, as long as you don't compromise the light, it's all about the light.

So Bispebjerg is a very historical facility and this is a replacement.

And I think what you see below the blue square is the new expansion and what you see below is the original hospital and as you can see a very sort of a linear parti and the new diagram sort of builds upon that.

But one of the, again, key things on this was that the big platform that you see below on the right side is orange and blue and purple has all this like a Swiss cheese.

The reason it's Swiss cheese is because we're trying to bring light down into that big platform.

And again, if you bisect that big block, it's again, series of bars that are just running horizontally and vertically.

That's what's sort of creating to bring that light down.

And then those bed wings and other things just sort of sit on it as again cities of bars that are connected within.

So that became a very interesting thing.

The other thing was about scale and experience.

Again, I think what was really exciting in this as contrasted to what I just showed you in India that we did was this was a very, there is a very pristine definition and respect for that scale that needed to be respected.

And I think that's what this building was able to do as it was nestled around, these courtyards, and those bars, and the bringing those gardens within it was part of that, and what you see here in this imagery is some of that.

Again, we were teamed with a wonderful design firm from Denmark, VHR.

I think they did exquisite detailing.

I loved it.

When I first saw actually some of the renderings come out, I was just so taken by, because again they were brick, the existing campus was brick, and they needed to maintain that.

But what I would say KHR was able to do is that they took that ballot and they really took it to heart but made such a beautiful richness in the detail, which I think will be really wonderful.

So I think for us, again, I think it's about that detail that really matters.

So I think that is something that's unique about, I would say a lesson of work.

And we are delighted actually that this project is continuing to build, and we'll be excited.

One last thing I will share about this project with you is that we learned was on the construction site.

Again because of the harsh climate that they build in, like how do you keep it and what we learned, we actually did an enabling project prior to the hospital.

which is like a services support building.

And it was called the white tent.

They set up this huge mega white tent.

It's like, imagine it's like you're building a big circuit and the building is being built every day because it's, you're able to brave the weather and do that.

And it's just very interesting, again, things that you learn.

I have not seen that being, maybe it's done someplace.

Personally I've not had a privilege of a project that has done that myself.

But I think we were very, I was quite intrigued when we learned about how they continue to build in that part.

So this is a perfect segue.

We've sort of given you four different case studies.

Very different aspects, different attributes, cultural nuances to issues.

Charles would like to probably take you through a different journey now.

- So Ray mentioned earlier about the research that we're doing in the States about where we're gonna put this soap dispenser versus the rest of the world.

And their needs were just basic.

Clean water, sanitation, access to decent healthcare.

So several years ago at the summer leadership summit that some of y'all will probably go to, there was a group called Mass Design that I hadn't heard of.

And they presented this project that was being designed and started to be worked on then.

And I was so impressed and continue to be impressed, I think you will too, about what they're doing to give back to the disadvantaged countries and communities.

So they've taken this, the very simplest approach to design.

On the left hand side you see windows that are operable, on the right hand side you see clear story windows.

So they created just a natural convection current to let a breeze blow through.

What these folks had before was just a conventional ward.

With no windows that people were packed in, they were just reinfecting one another over and over again.

It was a horrible situation.

So a fairly simple solution for something but in a country that's disadvantaged.

But they took this to a different step.

Kind of like what Tushar mentioned with that embassy, there was 1500 people that were employed and working on that.

They trained local folks to work with local materials, using lava stone to cut 'em out and use that as an architectural palette along with some concrete and plaster and other things.

And those folks became super talented at this work.

And it's exquisite to see these details of how close they can bring these studies.

It's wonderful work.

And that has become a desired capability in that country.

So they create a workforce and jobs with them, so now they're using the skill set they did to continue work and be paid something to do work.

They also did handmade furniture.

And Mass took those skill sets that the locals had and who created these designs that are made over there.

Now they're selling these projects to give back to the community.

So Mass design is a not-for-profit architectural firm.

Imagine that.

These guys and gals are doing something very special.

Now they have a construction sign.

Through the lessons that they've learned overseas and they're sharing that with others.

And so this is a very different approach to making significant change.

It's not the mega hospitals that we do here or around the world, but the world needs this kind of healthcare as well.

And so Mass, my hat's off to them.

And if you didn't know, they won the Firm Award this year from the AIA.

- So I think that's a perfect segue to really kind of imagine the future.

And it's in this child's eye that you, as we start to think about, what does it mean for us as architects, as designers, as people that can help this planet that we live in.

It's about that future generation.

How can we create a world that is better for them than what we inherited?

And I think that's, really, the journey sort of begins here, with each of us at every moment and every interaction that we get.

But also with that the notion of the sense of responsibility is multifold because our environment is extremely challenged, with pressures of fossil fuel and all other kinds of things that we're dealing with.

And the built environment can play a huge role in that.

And as we as architects, designers, think about health.

The sort of the impact that we make in the built environment has an impact on our planet, which eventually has an impact on all of us.

So as we start to think about our projects, our journey working across the world, so what can we do to think more sustainably?

Think in a way that, like the example we showed of Mass, where they're thinking about local, regional aesthetic and while that may be appropriate for there, it may not be appropriate for another place.

So that, again, I think being really thoughtful about those kinds of issues I think is going to be something that I hope paves the way for us as we go forward.

So with that.

Questions.

You guys did not ask us single question, so please, I hope you have some.

- Questions from anyone?

Any questions online?

Any questions here?

- [Tushar] Don't be shy.

- I'm curious.

Did you find any resistance within your firm to moving overseas and what were those voices of concern?

- So the answer is yes.

There's always different opinions in the firm no matter what the issue that's there.

And the decision was made to move forward 'cause at that moment in time when we decide to go overseas, which some of us wanted to do a few years earlier, but that didn't happen.

Because the economic downturn, they said, okay, there's still stuff going on over there, let's go give it a try, see what happens.

- I would say it's the classic heart and mind.

I think there are many people in our firm that believe in the purpose of doing good things, and we want to take what we have learned and share with others.

And there are others that keep us grounded, making sure we are a successful business and question simple things of viability.

How do you still stay and and be able to pay your bills.

And working internationally is tough.

It's tough.

It's not easy from that perspective.

So I think we have been, we have had both.

But having said that, I think we've found ways to be able to at least do a fair share of work around the world, and I hope we have opportunities to do more.

- If there's not another one, I have a second that I'd like to ask.

My sense is that this coming generation of design professionals probably will be among, if not the most mobile generation of design professionals in history.

And working internationally, being mobile over the course of a career, being able to show a resume with projects in multiple different countries is probably in the future not so uncommon.

That said.

Your firm has a design specialty.

It is filled with people that have specialty credentials, special portfolios, experience that is deep and true and wonderful, the work you showed was just beautiful.

Talk to us a little bit about the exporting of American credentials.

For example, does being board certified in healthcare design in the United States translate to someone in another country seeking design expertise in healthcare?

Just share with us a little bit about the mobility of the credential in addition to the mobility of the individual.

- So I'll start with the firm.

One is just getting your name out there and your brand and what you're known for.

And I've had the good fortune to be with the different versions of the firm that I've been with now 36 years to be a part of that.

So it's just getting your brand out there first, and then you've gotta determine, is somebody really looking at your brand, or the depth of knowledge that you have, which ties back to the college if you will.

And I would say with all due respect for the college, nobody really asks for that overseas.

But when you get into deeper conversations and you can share that, oh, okay, well that's another enhancement I didn't really understand, I have more value for that now.

So that's, kind of a deeper appreciation comes.

But the last opportunity Tushar and I had for working over in the Middle East was a year and a half or so ago.

And we got on this call with some folks in the Mid East.

And the guy started saying, well I saw you on television.

And it was right here from this stage that he saw, that Google, YouTube, he starts talking to me about it and I'm just blown away at that.

So the power of getting your voice out there from who knows where can resound.

You wanna talk about the the staff issues, Tushar?

- Yeah but I think, I would offer a slightly different perspective.

Yes we don't, but I think, I feel like there's probably, there is value I think.

Because I think a lot of our colleagues around the world.

We have been able to been fortunate to create a program like the board certification.

And that's a very, it's not an easy... Certification to Ghana, you have to really work for it and I think it carries meaning.

And I think as colleagues around the world look for benchmarks, at least there is a benchmark in our field of healthcare architecture that recognizes and defines a threshold of expertise.

So in my opinion, as they start to create those things, this is a great beginning and can we take that, I really think there's a place for it.

- Absolutely.

- Where we would take it.

And I think people aspire for it.

And they could do even better.

But I think again, part of our message of sharing and learning is to be able to take some of our knowledge and be able to share it with others.

So I think that's sort of part of that message.

So I'm excited about that on the board side but also also on the academy side where the mission is about education and networking, and I think about that perspective, education sharing, and networking and the network, think about the network around the world.

That's your network.

And I think the power of that, I think there's something to be said to that.

- I want to address your staff comment there.

When you look at at the resumes you might be building.

Hey, I wanna work on a near international project to add to my career path.

One thing that I look for, I think a lot of firms for is the consistency of something.

You can't just work on one of these projects for a year and a half and say, I worked on that project.

These big projects take four to six years.

And for just some career advice, if you go down that path, I would encourage you to stick with that project all the way through.

The knowledge that you'll gain for that is much more than hopping to the next firm that gives you recruitment calls.

'Cause that's just the plague that's across our industry right now.

So be mindful of that as you go through your careers.

- Great advice and great content.

My expectations were high and I was not disappointed.

I knew that would be the case.

Thank you both for coming.

And we're about out of time.

Let's give them one more thank you.

(Ray and audience clapping) We look forward to seeing you here next week.

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